Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 251

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 251. Why Pomegranate Seeds, of All Things (4)
“Let’s go see Father.”
“A wise decision.”
“So… where’s the ferryman?”
“There’s no such system here.”
“….”
“I mean, Grandmother just improvised it on the spot. There was never a river here in the first place.”
Then why have I been worrying about boat fare this whole time? I spoke with barely contained irritation, but Jacob seemed oblivious as he laughed heartily in response.
“Hahaha, it’s just funny.”
“Ugh.”
“Ow!”
Even the lord of the Underworld feels pain when you kick his shin. I dislocated Jacob’s joint and looked around. A duck boat was drifting across from the far bank. Surely I wasn’t supposed to ride that.
“Let’s go.”
“What do you mean, this isn’t a tourist attraction.”
“Descendants of Kisomalos visit fairly often. I thought having more attractions would make it less boring.”
Interesting—so people who discovered the Underworld’s existence had visited before? Come to think of it, if I could figure it out, wouldn’t it be strange if no one in history had ever found the Underworld? I’d been wondering why deities close to me didn’t have an Underworld either. The same probably goes for other deities. There must be some who secretly told their descendants about it while breaking the spoiler prohibition clause.
“Alright! Let’s pedal with all our might!”
“The current is this strong—how am I supposed to cross the river by pedaling!”
“Then you can’t go!”
“Come on!”
I couldn’t leave without meeting Father, so I pedaled the duck boat with every ounce of strength I had. Jacob just sat beside me without helping pedal, laughing “Ahahaha! Ahahaha!” the whole time. Damn it! He’s just like Choco when we first met! Especially like Choco when she was being cheeky in front of Father!
“Uuuaaah!”
But I can do this! Choco and Netcha fed me tonics and trained me, so I have tremendous strength now!
I shouted with fighting spirit and pedaled hard across the Acheron River. When I stepped off the duck boat, I was gasping for breath, completely drained. Then Jacob pressed some button on a machine and activated what looked like a conveyor belt.
“From here on, we’ll take the moving walkway.”
“If you had this technology, why did we have to cross the river in a duck boat!”
“Isn’t it better to have something fun to do?”
“It’s not fun at all!”
If the Underworld has this kind of technology, they should at least level the ground from the warp point! As I complained indignantly, Jacob brought up other people as if finding it fascinating.
“Usually people don’t complain because they’re so desperate to meet whoever they’re coming to see. You must have amazing character.”
“Your character is even more amazing, isn’t it?”
I’ve never met someone so twisted and ill-tempered! I used to think Nanakda had a warped personality, but compared to Jacob, he was practically a sage. Though being the Cult Leader, he’s practically a sage anyway.
“But how much longer will it take?”
“Well, about 30 years back in real time… so roughly 15 hours?”
“It feels both surprisingly long and surprisingly short compared to 30 years.”
Either way, if it takes that long, running or walking wouldn’t really speed up my arrival. I might as well eat my lunch.
“Alright.”
I plopped down on the ground and opened my travel bag, and Jacob, watching with curiosity, asked me a question.
“What’s that rectangular thing?”
“It’s a lunch box. Would you like to have some?”
I brought the lunch boxes in a carrying case, so there would be plenty for Jacob to eat as well. I unfolded the three-tiered lunch boxes one by one on the moving walkway and poured water from the horned waterskin, and the man dropped to his knees, pressing his palms against the ground as he laughed uncontrollably.
“Ha ha, aha ha! This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone bring a lunch box here!”
“Huh? I thought you weren’t supposed to eat food from the Underworld. So everyone else just goes hungry?”
“Aha, aha ha, hehe, usually people are too busy escorting souls to think about eating, you know?”
“They must not have much peace of mind.”
“Hup.”
People need to eat while they travel. I handed Jacob a wooden fork and spoon, then examined the picnic menu Emily had prepared. Wow! Roasted whole chicken and kimbap from the old days! This is exactly what you need for a picnic!
“This looks delicious! Thank you for the meal!”
“Then I’ll have some too. Thank you for the meal.”
The old-fashioned roasted chicken had such a wonderfully thin, crispy coating. I ate my fill from the lunch box, and later, tired of just riding the moving walkway, I pulled a blanket from my bag and covered myself, falling into a deep sleep. As I lay flat on my back preparing to rest, Jacob kept laughing, saying he’d never seen anyone like me before.
“Mmmm, mwaaaah….”
Oh, I ended up sleeping much longer than I intended. I smacked my lips as I woke, wiped away the drool that had trickled down my face while sleeping, and stretched with a loud crack. Back when I traveled the Empire with Choco, I couldn’t sleep without a soft bed, but after marching through several wars since then, I’d grown accustomed to sleeping rough.
Accustomed, yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s particularly comfortable.
“Ugh, my back, my back.”
The moving walkway was warm enough that I didn’t catch a chill, but it was hard and my back ached. I confirmed that Jacob was also crouched nearby sleeping, and I noticed something round gathered in the area. What is this? It looks exactly like what Jacob was using as a pillow?
“Mmm, a stiff morning.”
When I stirred, Jacob woke up too. The man brushed off his clothes and stood, then began a light morning exercise routine. He didn’t seem to live a particularly healthy life, yet he was surprisingly disciplined about it.
“Jacob, what is this?”
Since the man was awake anyway, I might as well ask. I pointed to the flesh-colored sphere, and Jacob made a horrifying sound as if it were nothing special.
“Oh, that?”
“Yes.”
“That’s a person.”
“A person?”
A person…? That…? What are you talking about? This looks like an inanimate object, but a person? That?
“To be precise, it’s a mass of human flesh with only sensation remaining.”
“…Why?”
Why would you do such a thing? Please don’t suddenly change the genre to science fiction horror thriller. It’s terrifying.
I felt a chill run down my spine and moved away from the flesh mass, but Jacob picked it up with a completely unfazed expression.
“Even if we’re gathering them here to eventually become spirits or deities, we can’t just release people with notorious reputations. So for rehabilitation and punishment both, we keep only the sensation and provide electrical signals. It’s easier to manage that way too.”
“Eeeeek.”
Isn’t this the kind of punishment the Southern Region’s Buddhism talks about—going to hell and suffering? Modern hell has really become streamlined and convenient. Punishment accomplished with just electrical stimulation.
“What about Father? Surely Father isn’t among these?!”
“Chiron didn’t really do anything wrong, did he?”
“Huh? Really?”
What? Really? Truly? Wait, wait, wait? Now that I think about it, Father willingly entered prison to atone for things like war and killing family members, right? What do I do—Father was a much kinder person than I thought.
“People who become flesh masses usually committed mass murder, abandoned their humanity, or were extremely heinous criminals.”
“….”
“Honestly, maybe you should worry about yourself rather than Chiron….”
If you don’t leave an Achievement-like mark in history, you might not end up here, right? I’ll just die cleanly when my time comes. I don’t want to become a deity or spirit at all, okay? As I explained this at length, Jacob made an uncomfortable expression and brought up Laplace.
“That’s not something I decide. The Grandmother sets the criteria and decides who enters.”
“If I do good deeds from now on, will that help?!”
“If you save as many lives as you’ve taken, we do consider it mitigating circumstances.”
Fine, then. Starting today, I’ll become a benevolent Emperor who cares about the welfare of my people. First, I’ll expedite the mandatory education system that Marshmallow proposed, and maybe establish orphanages too? There must be plenty of children who lost their parents in the war, right?
“Oh, we’re entering the Ende Chiron District now.”
“Let’s hurry!”
But wait—even if I had called for war, it happened during Father’s reign, so why should I take the blame for it?! Once I return safely, I’ll have the historians record that it was all Father’s orders and that I had nothing to do with it.
I rolled my travel bag with a rumbling sound as I descended from the moving walkway and stepped back onto the unpaved road. As Jacob and I walked a bit further into the Ende Chiron District, a strangely familiar landscape began to unfold before me.
“Huh?”
Isn’t this the Princess Palace? No, but the buildings look oddly new for that…
“Oh! Father!”
I spotted a familiar back of a head and impulsively called out to him, but the man didn’t even bother turning around. And for some reason, his build seemed smaller than I remembered.
I hurried forward to see Father’s face. Since this was supposedly a real-time recreation of thirty years ago, there stood a youthful teenage version of Father, staring blankly up at the sky.
“Hahahaha! Ahahaha! Father looks so young!”
Isn’t he younger than me right now? He looks like he’s in his late teens?
“Who are you?”
“Huh?”
“Judging by that vacant expression, you must be from a cadet branch of Kisomalos.”
“Ehhh?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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